EXCLUSIVE: Man faces up to 20 years for possession of $1 million in fake money orders

Shae Stevenson (back), in Rockland County Court Wednesday, is accused of carrying more than $1 million in phony money orders. (Richard Harbus for New York Daily News)

A Rockland County man was hit with 1,372 felony charges of fraud Wednesday after cops found more than $1 million in phony money orders in a luxury SUV he was driving.

Shae Stevenson, 23, was busted Monday after cops in Clarkstown pulled him over for a minor vehicle violation.

Advertisement

Police said they found the cache of counterfeit money orders in a duffel bag Stevenson quickly zipped up and tried to remove from the Land Rover when told it was being impounded because he was driving with a suspended license.

Stevenson was slapped with felony charges of possession of a forged instruments for each bogus money order found in the bag.

He was released on $5,000 bail following his arraignment Wednesday in Clarkstown Justice Court. He did not enter a plea and was ordered to return to court on Aug. 7.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Stevenson refused to comment following his arraignment and later when reached at his family's home in Nyack.

"No, I can't," Stevenson said. "You need to talk to the lawyer."

Stevenson could face up to 20 years in jail for possessing forged instruments. (Richard Harbus for New York Daily News)

A man believed to be Stevenson's grandfather added, "We're not going to say anything."

Defense lawyer Kevin Fega defended Stevenson as "a good kid."

"He has the support of a good family," Fega told reporters outside the courthouse.

Citing an "ongoing fraud investigation," Clarkstown police Sgt. JoAnne Fratianni refused to release more details of the case — even the time of the arrest.

On his Facebook page, Stevenson claims to be "self-employed and loving it!" but did not reveal what he was employed as.

The U.S. Postal service has been plagued for years by Internet fraud schemes involving fake checks and money orders.

In an alert issued last year, postal officials warned that con artists, often posing as students, tourists or overseas military personnel were asking unsuspecting victims to help cash the phony checks or money orders. The scammers tell the victims to keep some of the money as a gift and wire the rest to them, usually overseas.